we have bought our Nissan Leaf S 2015 second-hand only a few weeks ago, so we are still in the phase of discovering its various features.

I have just now tested the audio playback of mp3 files from a USB dongle for the first time, and I noticed the following problem: files are folders are recognized and titles shown correctly on the display, but as soon as I start playing those files, they keep stopping/resuming every few seconds (at random intervals), and while the sound is stopped the titles and folders also temporarily disappear from the display.

I tried to google for this problem, but haven't found much so far, so I wonder if other people on this forum ever had the same problem and might know the reason for it.

The USB dongle has always worked fine when used with various PCs/laptops, is FAT32 formatted and pretty small in capacity (4Gb). I don't remember exactly the mp3 format, but it should be fairly normal, and I think it isn't the likely culprit, since the audio sounds perfectly fine while the playback lasts. At the moment I don't have other USB dongles to test.

My first reaction is to think that maybe the USB port itself is damaged, and keeps "losing" the connection with the USB dongle, but I would like to rule out other possible reasons before asking for potentially expensive repairs.

Sorry, can't help though. I don't have an S and wouldn't bother using the putting music on USB flash drives to play in my car or anywhere.

I would try other flash drives as they're dirt cheap and .mp3 files from another source. Who knows if whatever generated them happens to create something incompatible with the head unit? Amazon Music should have some free mp3 files you can test with.

Indeed it seemed that the problem was simply with my USB flash drive; it must be the hardware, because it still didn't work even after reformatting it. I just didn't expect it because it's always worked perfectly in every other device I've attached it to, but eventually I managed to grab a different USB flash drive to test exactly the same files, and everything worked perfectly.

I also have had trouble with the playing of mp3s from the usb port... I think that organizing a memory stick with so many data files confuses the radio, or the voltage of the usb does not correctly read the memory stick. I gave up on memory sticks..

HOWEVER, I use the usb plug to play my big iPod, which sits in the glove box. It works flawlessly. I think this it because the radio only has to control the Ipod's functioning, not organize the files..

UNIVERSAL serial bus.....is NOT. There are more glitches than people often think.

There are HUGE differences in quality of connection materials, on BOTH sides, AND BIG differences in the chips and circuits on the flash or card. Some are excellent, some are very good, cheap ones can be...OK >>>> or they can be crap, giving lots of connection issues and/or dying a premature death. This is ignoring counterfeits and just plain bad luck. It's usually reasonably prudent to NOT scrape the bottom of the barrel with these purchases. Brand name is no guarantee as some major brands WILL sell bottom end trash, or be subject to counterfeiting.

When in doubt, try a different device, sometimes BOTH devices. It can be frustrating.In general, spend a bit more and do your research BEFORE you buy, as tempting as cheap may be.

flydiver wrote:UNIVERSAL serial bus.....is NOT. There are more glitches than people often think.

There are HUGE differences in quality of connection materials, on BOTH sides, AND BIG differences in the chips and circuits on the flash or card. Some are excellent, some are very good, cheap ones can be...OK >>>>...Brand name is no guarantee as some major brands WILL sell bottom end trash, or be subject to counterfeiting.

When USB implementation seemed really terrible (like on mobos with Via chipsets, I have some firsthand experience with this), my friend said USB was Users Swear and Bitch.

Fortunately, things seem to have gotten better except for the mess that are USB-C cables.

Back to counterfeiting, I wouldn't be surprised if there are counterfeits of name brand USB flash drives out there. After all, there are counterfeit Micro SD cards.

To be honest, we've always used giveaway USB memory sticks (i.e. gifts from work), never bought one as far as I remember

So I am certainly not complaining that this particular one didn't work reliably, I was just surprised because it's the one which has always worked flawlessly everywhere I plugged it into. It was my first try in the Leaf, and since it failed I just assumed every other USB stick was going to fail too, but it was not the case. The second one (giveaway from my wife's company) works perfectly. Maybe she has a better company than mine